


The Angels Cried In Butterfly Red

by butimbroken



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-01-15
Packaged: 2018-03-07 16:15:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butimbroken/pseuds/butimbroken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy/Angel. An undercover cop and a reckless teenager. Mature Themes. AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The first time that Angel had seen her was merely days into his newest assignment. He'd been busy trying to get a lay of the land so to speak, trying to familiarize himself with the town, the people, the work ahead of him... so when he finally found some free time, he was more than happy to treat himself to a feast at the small all-night diner just down the road from the rental house he'd been set up with that he'd been eyeing since he first strolled into this small nowhere town. He hadn't been eating properly since before he'd come to Sunnydale as it were and had just been busying himself with the last of his unpacking and setting up his new place so was practically drooling as he sprinted over on through waiting for his order to be brought out to him. 

Though, soon he found something else that would cause similar reactions.

It was the first few hours of the night when he'd opened the glass door, a small dinging coming from the bell set on top of it as he stepped inside. He smiled at the two waitresses behind the large counter before finding his way to a table. He was already flipping through the menu before his butt had even had time to connect with the seat.

"And just how are you doing tonight?"

Angel tore his eyes off from the glossy page and looked up the older waitress who'd followed him over, her pen and paper were pulled out, ready to go. "Pretty good, and yourself?" he replied.

"I'm doing just fine, thank you," she said sweetly. "What can I go ahead get you to drink, darlin'?"

His smile grew, the southern twang she had reminding him of two of his closest friends, Fred Burkle and Lindsey McDonald. "Uhh..." he drawled out, his eyes quickly looking over the drinks section of the menu. "Actually, just a cup of coffee would be fine. Regular. And, well, could I get a small glass of water, too?"

She smiled, "Sure, no problem. I'll be right back."

Angel nodded, going back to his menu, hoping to have a better idea on what he was going to be ordering by the time she returned.

As she was setting him up, there was a cough heard from across the room, coming from the only other customer in the place, grabbing the attention of the three other room occupants. "You doing alright over there, Mister Giles?" she called out over her shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, yes," a British voice answered. "Do excuse me, I seem to still have this cold."

"You've had that cough for weeks now, Rupert. You should go have it checked out. All these late nights sure aren't helping either, you know."

He coughed a few more times. "Excuse me. And I do believe you're right," he said with a sigh, his hands holding up some papers while he shook his head before returning to them, a small smile on his face.

"Well, if you need anything, you just holler alright?" she told him before turning her attention back to Angel. "Same goes for you," she said with a smile and wink. "You think you're ready to order yet or do you still need some time?"

Angel took a breath. "I think we're good to go," he joked, and continued to as he warned her she would be needing that pen and how he'd be working the cooks in the back with this one, making her laugh.

"You weren't kiddin', were you?" she said after he'd finished telling her his order. "Somebody been starving you or somethin'?" she teased.

He laughed. "Just myself. Been busy. Just moved to town and all."

"Oh, well I didn't think I'd seen you around before. Believe me, I think I would have remembered that pretty face of yours if I had. Let me go get this to the boys, I'll see if I can't go ahead and bring some of this out to you. Can't have you all passing out from starvation on me or something."

His laughter followed her as she walked away and he thanked her when she quickly returned with 'quick little nothings' and gave a rough estimate on how long it should take before he got some 'real food' coming out. For a few minutes, they made small talk then she excused herself again. And just as he watched her pass by the door on her way, it opened, with the ringing, and in she stepped. Or, rather, her head ducked in, looking from side to side without really seeing anything and then she stepped in.

Angel didn't know why, but the small wave she gave to this Rupert Giles was the cutest thing he'd ever seen.

He hadn't even got a good look at her, her face yet at this point, her body on the other hand... well... but he was already drawn to her. Besides the whole body thing. But it didn't hurt. Toe up, she was wear tall black boots, the heel was a good three to four inches and on the thicker side, reaching about two inches below her knees, between there and the bottom to the very short skirt of her dress showing her black stalkings, then onto the flimsy excuse of a dress, which was also black, and almost see through... not that it really needed to be, it didn't leave much to the imagination as they say and the barely there triangle cuts covering her breasts were doing one hell of a job in other areas where covering her failed, like shaping and displaying, wonderfully, it was short, cut low and had the thinest straps he'd ever seen so on the upper half of her body there was plenty of skin to be shown, and what skin it was, even if a little pale. He could make out two separate club stamps on the hand facing him, one was black while the other was some strange shade of green, she had on silver and black bracelets, a jumble of them, different kinds, different designs and shapes, two rings on the one hand he could see and chipped away red nail polish. Her blonde hair had streaks of pink and blue in it, or, more like just sprayed on bits more than streaks, it wasn't looking it's best but not too bad, just reaching her shoulders. And it stood in the way of seeing her face until she turned, though when she did it just about knocked the wind right out of him. He could then see a black and silver bat designed choker around her neck as well as a long but thin and barely able to make out silver chain, whatever was hanging from it he couldn't make out, and the pendant was almost tangled up in her hair anyway, not surprising, she had on more make up then one might need, in the 'goth trend' or whatever kids called it these days, dark lips, dark eyes, caked on, though he found her breathtakingly beautiful despite it. And she was obviously a little intoxicated. He knew she could only be seventeen or possibly eighteen, but she'd obviously been getting pissed somewhere.

Behind her, three same-aged kids gathered, two females and one male. The male wasn't 'dressed up' with them though was clearly part of their little gang, the girls were pretty decked out as the blonde though. There was a redhead, who seemed a little shy upon the Mister Giles being pointed out to her, a little out of place even with the whole get up. Then there was dark-haired wild child who was clearly at home with it all, hell, maybe even holding back as it were.

Over the rim of his cup, Angel watched as they made their way to a nearby table, taking their seats, though the brunette had some trouble, falling out of her chair and laughing loudly at it before finally make it. The two other women and this Giles guy had all questioned if she was alright which she'd waved off.

Angel tore his eyes away from the group, looking over to the other three trying to read them. It was obviously familiar, he could see that. The waitress he didn't know yet looked plenty annoyed by their arrival, the one he did had a very small hint of annoyance as well but happy to see them too, maybe even a little worried about them, which the man certainly was. He obviously cared for these young kids.

Turning his head back to the group, more importantly the blonde, he nearly choked as he found her staring back, her green eyes popping against the dark raccoon-like circles and underneath this light. Their gazes held for what seemed like an eternity, then her eyes narrowed some and her face scrunched up slightly. Then she smiled, just enough, the corner of her bottom lip becoming captured by some of her pearly white teeth. And it was like that smile, that look in her eyes... it was like she was telling him she somehow knew who he was. Like she knew everything there was to know about him. Before he could even think to breath again, she looked away, toward the unfamiliar waitress who'd, no doubt, begrudgingly came over to take their order. She spoke first, softly, and he couldn't make a single thing out but he was sure it sounded like heaven, her voice. As she spoke, she carefully avoided eye contact with the waitress, and him too, and her fingers played with her hair, the pointer and middle finger of one hand pretending to be a flat iron or something as it continued to press through over and over.

As the woman walked away, she turned her head, meeting his eyes once more. She gave a look that seemed to ask 'What?' but that was all, a second later she looked away again, began interacting with her small group.

Soon, the first few plates were being brought out to him, with his own waitress giving him looks to make it clear she'd been watching his not very subtle staring, but she spoke nothing about it. When the plates kept coming, he found himself being stared at in return by not only her, but her obviously amused friends as well, making him blush a little.

"Big night," the dark-haired girl called out to him, amused, and he wasn't sure if it was a statement so much or a question so just nodded anyway and heard her laugh some more. "Eat up!"

Which, he did. Happily. It was one hell of a meal... plus one hell of an excuse to be able to continue sitting here and staring at the young girl.

As their group was being handed their own plates, Angel watched as the British man got up, his eyes trained on them, looking more and more nervous once he began walking toward them. He even cleaned his small glasses twice before reaching them. "Hello," the Brit greeted softly, his head nodding forward slightly.

The group all replied with their own greetings.

"You weren't at school today," he said to the blonde.

She swallowed, looking down at her plate. Angel did his best to read her lips since he knew he'd be straining to hear her. Something about being sick, which they could make out was a lie, was said.

"Well, I, uh..."

"I wasn't at school today either," the brunette cut in, a huge, drunken grin on her face as she chewed happily on some strips of bacon.

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes. "You dropped out last year, Faith."

Faith, it seemed, laughed. "Just pointing it out."

"Well, uh, yes, I suppose then you weren't," this Mister Giles stutter out. "I, well, I do hope you are feeling better and I see you all tomorrow... or, well today... as it is...now...today..." And after a few more words, he left. The blonde seemed troubled after their talk, but as if sensing he'd noticed and figured her and the situation out, she covered it up.

Throughout the meal, their eyes met several times, though it was almost always in a quite passing despite his best efforts to keep her locked in on him. When he finally finished his gigantic meal, he sipped his coffee slowly and looked over the bill. When he finished with it as well, he sighed, sat there for several minutes before standing. This, she paid attention to, he could tell, though she was doing her best either not to or not to be obvious about it. It made him smile. Throwing down a massive tip, he headed to the counter to pay for it all. Then, on impulse, he asked to have a cheesecake sent over to the group before leaving. He got another look from his waitress and a small shake of the head though she was smiling wickedly his way the whole time. He paid for it as well then gave one last long look at the back of her blonde head, then headed to his current home.

OoOoO

The next time Angel saw her was at one of the town's convenience stores. He'd come in to pay for his new tank of gas and grab a pack of gum when he found himself drawn toward the few isles inside the store, suddenly craving the junk food being displayed along the shelves. 

After raiding the candy, Angel went around the corner to the next row to grab up a bag of chips when he began to overhear a conversation from the next isle over. Given their close enough proximity and the fact there were only a handful of people inside, it wasn't that hard. At the time, he had no idea who the voices belong too though so hadn't been paying any more attention to it than the bits and pieces that found their way to him anyhow. After grabbing up a small bag of original Lay's potato chips, he eyed a close by similar sized bag of pretzels and grabbed it before deciding to put it back a few seconds later, then after that he began walking to the end of the line and rounded the corner to final isle where they kept the snack cakes on one side then the cold beverage up along the wall on the other.

Angel jutted to a stop at the sight of what else he found back there. Her. He sucked in a breath as his body came to a sudden stop, his Reese's peanut butter cup flying out of his hands and to the ground with a small thud and sliding sound until it stopped. This, of course, got everyone's attention.

"You with the food again, huh?" Faith spoke, the lone companion to the blonde right now.

Angel blushed slightly, taking the few steps to reach down to his candy. "Sorry about that," he muttered, removing it from where it'd bounced against the brunette's boot.

Her hands spread open before her. "No harm, no foul," she replied in amusement.

Straightening up, Angel attempted to smile. "Uh... hi," he said lamely to the girl, then another, softer "Hi," to the blonde.

"Hey," Faith said back, a laugh in her voice once again.

The blonde smiled sweetly and nodded her head the tiniest bit that Angel wondered if he just imagined it, but did not speak.

Angel tried to get his brain to come up with something, anything but it proved to be pointless. He was too busy gawking at her for any of that.

Tonight she had on another pair of black boots, a thick heel with several inches again, zipper on the sides but they weren't the one's he'd last seen her in but were fairly similar. The toe to these was a bit more in a square shape though, only came up to around mid-calf level and instead of just circling around at the top, they had an almost cowboy boot-like look for the shaft. Her stalkings had been replaced with fishnet knee highs, at least one tear was visible to him though he didn't know if it was intentional or not. Her pale but luscious upper legs were left a little too uncovered once more thanks to her short dress. He could make out a small bruise near her right kneecap and several fainted self injury marks higher up. The dress she had on looked more like lingerie than something she should be wearing as some sort of outfit out in the world. It was a silvery white and looked to be made of satin, which only had his hands craving to touch all the more. It was somehow less revealing than the previous, though he was sure if she even leaned forward the back would ride up and expose her behind or at any given time her breasts could easily come spilling right out of the top. It was tighter, too, almost to the point of looking like it'd just been painted on or something. His eyes had lingered as he trailed up her thin stomach, drinking in her shape. The top of her dress was cut in a v-shape with a thin line running underneath her breasts, another one running horizontally along with it through the middle of the cups as well. She wasn't wearing a bra, again, and her nipples hardened against the bump running across them under his gaze. The straps were hardly the size of his pink he estimated. She had a silver 'slave' bracelet on, around her wrist was a fairly large spider's web attached to two silver bands and on her finger was the connected ring, a spider on top of two similar bands. There was a black bead on the spiders head. On the opposite hand she wore a plain silver ring around her thumb and on her pinky was a ring with a blue coffin design to it. Her nails were still red but freshly painted. Around her neck was a large and elaborate white lace choker complete with tiny pearls that was polished off with a large silver cross hanging from it down the middle toward her breasts. Matching her coffin ring were a set of earrings, along with a set of plain silver hoops behind them. Her hair was up this time, tied up in a mess but rather plain ponytail. Her eyes were coated, though not as much as the previous time he'd seen her, in dark black and her lips were painted to match.

She was definitely not his type.

Yet... she was.

Once again, he'd been completely drawn to her, mesmerized by her, taking in every last inch and detail of her. 'If only Cordelia could see me now,' he thought. His sister had long given up on him when it came to trying to get him to notice her, or anyone's clothing, a change they've made to their appearance. A few too many arguments, his complete oblivion to her chopping off the better part of her long locks and dying it a darker color for almost two months... and then still having to have it pointed out to him, and even once she spent a whole morning trying to get his attention before saying she was going to school, walking out the door then storming back into the house just moments later to yell and point out that she'd just tried to go to school in her underwear. Cordy could be a little over-dramatic, sure, but she was right. He didn't always pay the best attention to things, especially things like this. But when it came to this strange girl, he just couldn't seem to get enough. He was afraid to miss any detail, as if everything had some purpose, meaning, some clue to who she was.

And, it didn't hurt that he'd apparently come to have an appreciation for this dark trend, least where she was involved. Many, many nights had passed where she'd been starring in his dreams in these kind of get ups.

Swallowing, Angel looked away, realizing he'd probably been leering for longer than he should have. He frowned at his own outfit, realizing he was surely not her type at all. Clearing his throat, he muttered something no one understood and headed to finally grab up a pack of six twenty-four ounce Sprites before heading back toward the checkout counter.

OoOoO

It was about forty-five minutes later when he got wind of a drug raid about to go down in the next town over. When he heard the address it seemed familiar and he brushed it aside for about a minute before he realized just why it had. Angel practically went flying out of his house and down the highway until he found the place.

"Hey, man, you gotta pay," a clearly stoned, poor excuse for a bouncer called out as Angel tried to brush past him.

Angel shot him a dirty look then shoved him hard enough to get him out of the way then headed inside, awful sounding electronic music hit his ears, so loud he wondered how his head didn't just explode on impact. He cursed at the massive throngs of people, the dim lighting despite the excessive amounts of them, and the smoke and fog which didn't help matters any. He growled and pushed through the crowd, ignoring anything anyone said to him, ignoring everything going on around him.

"You again?"

Angel spun around and squinted before hurrying over to the girl he'd heard called Faith. "Where's your friend?"

"You know, I don't think I'd have expected to see someone like you here," she said, laughing throughout, her eyes spaced out and glassy. Her arms were above her head and she danced to the music and lights.

"Where's your friend?" he repeated, a little louder.

"Huh? I can't hear you."

"Where's your friend?" he said once more, almost screaming.

"Who, B?"

He paused for a moment. "I have no idea. The..."

"The short blonde," she yelled back, "You know, the chick you've got a stiff one for."

Angel bent his head down to try and hide his blush before meeting her eyes again and nodding. "Where is she?"

Faith sighed, bringing her hands down from swinging wildly in the air to rest on her hips as she tried to search the floor. "Oh, there she is," she said, pointing and coming around to stand closer to him.

'B' as Faith called her narrowed her eyes as she came closer, two colorful drinks in her hands. She gave one to Faith then continued to look at him warily.

"You need to get out of here," he told her, well, them. Faith made some sort of noise and B began to look rather pissed. "The police are on their way," he continued.

"Fuck," Faith spat, clearly sobering up some at this news. "We gotta get the fuck out of here."

B's eyes showed her pure agreement.

Angel sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he watched them quickly grab up their things. They stopped and looked back at him and he just shook his head slightly. The green-eyed beauty's gaze remained on him for as long as she could manage it before Faith began tugging on her and they hurried out the back. Angel watched until he disappeared before sighing again and hurrying back out the front, jumping back in his own car and speeding away.

OoOoO

The third time Angel saw her was in a small, seedy bar he'd come to know quite well since his arrival here. It was all part of his game plan. So, of course, her showing up didn't bode too well with him. On one hand there was the fact she was an underage girl coming in here with her underage friends, and then there was also the fact he was here on business. And now she was interfering and invading.

Spotting her, and her other two friends, the dark haired boy and the redhead, Angel went completely still. He cursed in his head, over and over, wishing he could get them out of here. Wishing he could take the time to drink her in, something that took all his inner strength not to do just yet. Not while he was trying to have a conversation with an important figure in breaking this case.

When the moron finally excused himself, Angel ordered up another drink and quickly downed it before asking for another. He then started counting in his head, trying to find the right amount of time to wait before turning around to leer at her when suddenly there was movement behind him, then beside him.

"You should really be more careful about who you talk to you around here," his blonde finally spoke, whispering in his ear before using his shoulder as leverage to help take the seat beside him and began calling out for some drinks.

Angel felt dizzy, very, very dizzy. He was quite glad he was sitting right now, though a back to his chair would have been nice he thought. She'd finally spoken to him, her voice sounding like angels, and had even touched him. He was sure he could die pretty happily right about now. The smell of strawberry shortcake surrounded him, more than ever, and   
he had to fight off the burning desire to see if she tasted like it as well.

When he finally turned to look at her, she looked his way, smiling softly before looking away again, back toward the bartender heading her way. Angel fisted his hands as he watched the man not only serve her, but leer at her. That was his expertise, after all. He had to bite back the urge to say or do something about the fact he was serving underage kids, but it took some work. Instead, Angel decided to just focus on her, finally drink his beauty in. Also ignoring the fact that every other perv in here seemed to have the same idea.

She'd traded in her tall, zipped up heeled boots today, opting for some rather plain looking clunky low cut lace-up combat ones instead. Pure black painted on tights sprung out from them, silver glittered dashed through the dark black, until reaching the bottom of her skirt. It was a little more appropriate in size the skirt she had on in contrast to the two dresses she'd been seen in previously. The skirt was mostly purple, velvet and pleated, hanging a little low down her thighs. There was a black velvet band circling around the better part of the top of it, a thin strip of black lace trim hanging down from it. Purple was seen underneath the silver corset grommets in the center of its front, then there was a small space for the black ribbon. There was bits of skin peaking out between where the top of her skirt met the bottom of the matching top, and Angel fisted his hands again to keep from touching her. The matching top was cut like a vest and tied in a halter style, the black and purple lace bow resting against her neck contrasting nicely with the neat bun she'd tied her blonde locks up into mere inches above it. The v-cut shape at the bottom had him drooling, loving the slight patch of skin, drooling over the idea of touching her, lifting it up enough to find her belly button and teasing and tickling her... black lace hung down from the purple sating there at the bottom as well. Large black decor buttons went down the middle of the top, and the corset top was boned. It had a laced-up patch on both sides near the bottom. There was black velvet detail at the top. A good amount of skin was exposed of her back, which Angel happily drank in, along with the large corset details down her spine. Around one wrist laid a silver barbed wire designed cuff bracelet, and in her ears wore long silver earrings in the front holes, they were shaped like a large tied bow with a long pistol hanging from them, a tiny pearl between the two objects. The same silver hoops were in the others, though this close to her he finally noticed one ear seemed to have three holes in its lobe, not just two, and she seemed to like to skip the the back one for the second set. Her lips were glossy and pink today though the dark black remained heavy on her eyes. She had a light rose blush today as well. He thought he could see glimmers of glitter in it too.

Angel nodded down to the glasses before her, watching as the bartender walked away without looking at him. "Could say the same for you." She smiled at this but said nothing more. She gathered her things up then jumped off the stool and went back to her friends.

After a few more drinks of his own, Angel was beyond over the looks she was getting from others, fed up with hearing their lewd remarks to her or and then just amongst themselves. He didn't know how smart it was but Angel began making a show of his own. A quiet one, one she probably had no idea about as she didn't seem to really be paying any attention to any of them, but the guys sure began to catch on.

The last shot he downed before going to her was a dramatic display, which he'd had to fight not to throw back up when one middle aged man made some comment about how he "liked them young and fresh, too." He did his best to just throw his best pervy smile the mans way before ignoring everything else. The glass made a fairly loud thud when he popped it back down then he jumped to his feet and started for her, wanting her out of here as soon as possible. A number of whistles and other encouraging noises followed. He hoped his plan, the only one he could think of without drawing the wrong kind of attention to him, would work.

When his arms slid around her, he almost caught the end of the pool stick she was holding. Thankfully he'd whispered a hello in her ear in time, and that she'd apparently recognized his voice and didn't want to attack him as she then relaxed slightly. When he pulled her closer, tighter, he smiled feeling her breath hitch, watching as her hands trembled as she sat the stick down onto the table then grabbed at the sides. He bit into her shoulder lightly as his fingers slowly roamed up her hips to the flesh peaking out at her hips making her shiver in his arms. "You're too young to be hanging out in a place like this," he whispered.

"You're too old to be touching me like this," she countered.

Angel chuckled, kissing her neck, earning more appreciation from the other dirty minded folks in here. not that either of them were really paying attention to anything else at this point. "I don't want you or you're friends coming in here."

"You're not my father."

He kissed down her throat again, then across the back of her neck, wet, open-mouth kisses that had her shivering again, then paid the other side of her throat some attention. "Good thing for that," he muttered and she chuckled lightly. "We're leaving," he whispered, after sucking on a hint of flesh, almost long and hard enough to leave a lasting mark but not quite. "Get your things."

"Ha. If you think I'm going anywhere with you then you..."

"I'm leaving, and I don't want to leave you here alone," he cut her off.

"I can take care of myself."

"We're leaving."

She growled, getting angrier by the second. She untangled herself from him enough to spin around but before she could hit him and push him away, Angel closed the space between them once more, kissing her hard on the lips. His hands returned to her hips and he used them to lift her up, letting her legs circle around his waist.

He didn't give her another chance to think clearly or try getting out of this, he began carrying her out of there.

"Uh, Buff?" the young boy called, his voice worried. Angel knew he and the girl would soon be following. Which, they did. "Uh, excuse us. Sir?"

Angel finally put the blonde down, on the trunk of his car, and reluctantly backed away from her. "Sorry about that," he said not only to her, but the two friends who'd joined them. "I just... Please stay away from there, okay? It's not safe, especially not for a bunch of kids alright?"

The blonde seemed to return to her earlier senses, hopping down from the car to the gravel. She stomped over to Angel and hit him across the chest. "You are not the boss of me," she told him in a low voice. "I don't need you, or anyone else, looking out for me. Got it?"

"Well, that went wonderfully," he muttered to himself as he watched her walking in the opposite direction with her two friends.


	2. Chapter Two

Angel almost didn't recognize her the next time, which took place several weeks later. He was at the hospital two towns over where he'd brought his neighbor in earlier in the day. He had gotten into the elevator right behind her, without paying any attention. Then, they'd ridden up a floor or two before he finally looked over to the woman sharing the tiny space with him and was pretty sure his jaw had dropped in a very cartoonish fashion once it finally dawned on him just who she was.

Not that he could believe it.

Her toenails were a bright red today, peeping out from her tall black stilettos. She wore one ankle bracelet, it had a thin gold chain with several pastel colored butterfly charms hanging from it. Her dress was thin and it flowed loosely, but was the perfect fit for her body in his opinion. It was colored a light baby yellow with a small black bow where the subtle v-neck to the dress met in the front. There was a hint of black lace trim at the very top, outlining the v shape and making up the thin straps to the garment. The bottom of the dress hung to just below her knees. On one wrist she wore a simple, fairly large, black bangle bracelet, a matching ring on the opposing hands middle finger. He could see fresh cuts on her, high on the inside of that arm. Her nails were freshly painted, red to match her toenails, though on her thumbs she also had a large black stripe across the tops. In her hair, which was down, flowing against her shoulders, styled in a slight wave, she wore two simple red barrettes. Her cheeks were colored with a light pink, hardly visible, even against her pale skin. Her lips were a striking red and her eyes had zero black on them to speak of today, instead they bore just a glimmer of light pink and a hint of white.

This was obviously not the girl he'd come to 'know.' And he really hadn't seen this one coming, by a long shot.

He began to wonder if his pretty goth girl had a twin roaming around, if he was dreaming, or just going crazy and seeing things.

Before he could really let those kind of thoughts run wild though, she turned her head a little more his way and gave him an uneasy smile. "I'm sorry... about the other week. You were just trying to protect me and I yelled at you. I'm sorry. And thank you."

Angel just stared at her, for several too-long seconds. When she looked at him again, her eyebrows raised, he forced himself to blink. He shuffled a bit in his spot then cleared his throat before finally replying. "No, no. I deserved it. I can get a little high-handed sometimes... It wasn't my place, especially not to just drag you out of there like that. And," he blushed a little, looking down to his old and rugged black and white sneakers, "I'm sorry about... the... uhh... the rest, too. I shouldn't have... uh... attacked you like that. I'm sorry."

She blushed right along with him, looking away quickly when he'd dared to take a peek back up her way. Her blonde hair shook, "Don't be," she told him softly. "I mean... I... I didn't mind."

Angel smiled to himself and just watched her for a few more seconds before pushing himself off of the wall and taking a few steps closer to her, extending his hand. "I'm Angel, by the way."

She swallowed before taking it. "Buffy. It's nice to meet you," she said with a little laughter in her voice.

He chuckled with her. But before he could say any more, their movement stopped and soon the doors were opening. 'Shit,' he thought before sighing. "I guess this would be me."

"Alright."

"I... uh... my neighbor had surgery last week and needed a ride," the doors were beginning to close so he hurried to stand between them, "in here today so... that's.. uh... why I'm... here."

Buffy laughed. "Alright," she said again. "That's... nice of you."

He nodded. "I'm just telling you this so I'd have an excuse to keep talking to you for a few more seconds," he explained with a blush before taking his exit, not missing the slow, large smile that spread across her entire face before the doors shut between them.

OoOoO

The fifth time Angel saw her, it was roughly three in the morning, several days later, when he'd caught her walking around town in the middle of one hell of a rainstorm. Again, he hadn't known who she was at first, only having seen a small figure getting drenched as it walked along the other side of the street. He sighed before turning his car around and creeping up beside them. 

Rolling down his window and squinting, he realized just who the small figure was. "Get it," he called out to her.

She stopped her slow walking and turned to him, looking at him and the car with a sigh. "I'm all wet."

"It's fine, get in before you get pneumonia or something."

"You sound like my grandmother," she muttered, opening the door and climbing in.

He gave her a look. "I'm just going to take that as your way of saying 'thanks.' And you're welcome," he told her before cranking up the heat and then making another illegal turn in street to keep driving along.

"Thank you," she muttered, through chattering teeth, fastening her safety belt with shaking hands.

Reaching to the back seat, Angel grabbed up his leather duster he'd tossed back there hours ago, before it started raining cats and dogs out there and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she managed to get out again.

"You want me to take you home?" 

She shook her head. 

He pursed his lips together, his hand tightening some on the wheel. "Want me to take you to a friends house?" 

Again, she shook her head no. 

He sighed. "Well, your only option is for me to take you to my house because I'm not going to just drop you off somewhere."

She looked down into her lap at her shaking and fidgeting hands. "Okay."

He looked her over before sighing again. "What were you doing out there anyway at this time of night and in this weather? Do you have any idea how dangerous that it?"

She nodded her head a little, looking out the window now. "I... it wasn't raining when I left," she said lamely.

He shot her a look.

Buffy sighed and swallowed, pulling the long jacket closer to her. "I just... I needed to get out of my house for awhile..." came out between her still chattering teeth, "And it's late so I didn't want to wake any of my friends... Well, Faith wouldn't have been a problem but she's off in LA for the week... and any of my other... friends... who would be I didn't want to see so..."

"Why did you need to get out of your house so desperately?"

"I don't always get along with my dad," she answered after several moments.

"Did he hurt you?"

"What?" she asked, her head snapping around. "No! No, no. Nothing like that. We just... we don't get along is all."

He sighed in relief. "Sorry."

She waved a hand in the air. "No, I probably didn't make that sound right and... I can give off the impression to people they should worry about me I've been told. But no, there's nothing... he would never hurt me, we just have our issues."

"Won't he be worried about you?"

She shook her head. "He doesn't pay me much attention in general, and I tend to run off whenever and for however I feel like it enough for him to be used to it. Plus, he gets I can take care of myself."

He looked her over with a raised eyebrow. "Uh huh."

She chose to ignore that and the rest of the ride was made in silence.

OoOoO

Sprinting to the door, Angel did his best to shield her from the falling rain with his hovering body before hurrying her inside, flipping on the lights and shutting the door. "I'll show you where you can dry off and I'll find you some dry clothes," he told her and received a nod.

As they headed toward the closest bathroom, Angel paused in the hallway to turn the heat up some and to look his little drowned rat over. She had on boots again, he was pretty sure the same ones from the first night, but couldn't really tell as they were almost completely covered due to the fact she was wearing pants this time. And the blue and white plaid lounge pants were so long on her tiny frame that they practically covered her feet completely, even with the added inches. They were soaked through, the bottoms scuffed up, torn and muddy now. His jacket was still draped across her front and she had her own leather jacket on as well, but he could see the very bottom of her dark blue tee shirt from the back. Her hair was a complete wet mess.

Angel flipped the lights to the bathroom on for her then got out of the way. "There's towels over there, and, though it's not a good idea thanks to the storm and everything, there should be a hair dryer under the sink or in one of these drawers or something, and there's that small electric heater up there you can plug in. Though, again, with the storm and everything... um... and anything else you need, feel free... I'll be just down the hall if you need me."

Several minutes later he returned, knocking softly on the door while beginning to tell her he was just going to leave some clothes outside the door when it opened and the wind knocked right back out of him and his mind went blank as she stood there, now stripped down to nothing but a soaked white cotton and lace bra and panties set, toweling her hair. There were several markings, old and new, on her stomach, along her sides. Between two ribs was the deepest he'd seen on her yet. It was older but looked like it'd been dangerously deep. 

Forcing himself to quit staring at her, he coughed and took a step back, looking down at the clothes he'd brought. "There's a few different shirts to choose from," he began then coughed again to try and clear the huskiness still evident in his voice, "And I brought some boxers and a pair of pants though I don't think they'll fit. Sorry."

She stepped forward, taking the pile from his hands and he had to look a new direction again as her girl parts, which were not at all hidden by the soaked material, had come into view. "Thank you."

OoOoO

After changing into some dry clothes of his own, Angel began pacing around the downstairs to his place, trying to busy himself with different useless tasks while waiting for her to come out and... who knew what.

When she finally did appear, dressed in nothing but a heather gray tee shirt which she was drowning in, he'd just finished making them each a cup of hot chocolate. Which he was glad he didn't end up dropping or spilling on himself when he noticed her.

"Do you have any socks I could borrow?" she asked softly. "My feet tend to get cold."

He coughed and nodded. "Yeah, sure, one sec. If you want, here's some hot chocolate. Just make yourself at home," he told her before going to grab some socks for her to put on. Passing the bathroom, he noticed her wet clothes laid out to dry, his in a neat pile on the counter, her cell phone taken apart and set out hoping to dry as well. 

"Here you go, don't know about the fit," he told her when he returned, finding her standing by the two steaming mugs, sipping happily on hers. "You can sit down if you want," he told her, waving a hand across the areas of his kitchen, dining room and living room.

She smiled shyly. "Thank you," she said, taking the pair from him then padding over to the small table he had in the corner to take a seat and slip them on. They both chuckled softly at the sight of them hanging off of her.

"You hungry? I'm not much of a cook but I can operate a microwave."

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm good, but thank you."

He nodded and picked up his mug, letting a comfortable silence fall between them. He just watched her for several moments before walking toward his living room and taking a seat on the sofa.

"Your place is nice," she called out to him, looking around.

"Thank you."

"Do you live here alone?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"No pets?"

"No. I'm thinking about maybe getting a fish though."

She chuckled. "Are you still moving in or are you just not planning to stay long?"

His eyes widen and he shot her look.

She shrugged, picking up her cup and coming to join in in the living room, taking to the loveseat. "It's a nice place and for a guy living alone it's been decorated nicely enough, too, but it's not very... home-y."

Angel shook his head at her.

"So, which is it?"

He took a moment before answering. "Maybe a little bit of both."

"Why did you move here?"

"Looked like a nice house," he told her. Truthfully he hadn't even seen the place beforehand.

She rolled her eyes. "Why did you move to Sunnydale?"

"Work."

"What do you do?"

His tongue flicked at his teeth for a moment. "I am... a handyman."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, what do you really do?"

"Excuse me?"

Her eyes looked over the space around them again. "What do you really do?" she repeated. "Are you spy? Cop?" Her eyes grew animated. "Ninja?"

Angel laughed at this. "That's the one."

She laughed with him, snapping her fingers together.

After a few more minutes, the lights in the house all went off. Angel sighed, reaching into his pocket to find his cell phone to provide some light. "I probably should have prepared for that," he apologized. He was about to stand up and stumble around the place to find some candles or something when suddenly she was before him, then on top of him. The phone dropped to the cushions and his hands hurried to her waist, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss she'd started. Buffy moaned, her hands crushing against the sides of his hands, sliding through his hair, scratching down his neck. She fisted handfuls of his shirt, her body rocking against him seductively. Her hands slid underneath the blue material, her nails tickling and scratching lightly as she pushed it higher up his stomach.

"Just so you know, I don't normally do things like this," she whispered before crushing her lips back to his. He felt the padding around him dip again as she continued trying to get closer to him and when he felt warm wetness press into his freshly exposed flesh he growled and ended up biting her lip. Not that she seemed to mind.

Angel's hands slipped underneath the shirt of his she had on, coming to rest on her naked hips, just another confirmation of the fact she wasn't wearing anything underneath. Though he'd already been made well aware of that moments before. He growled again, squeezing handfuls of her far too tempting flesh. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," she breathed, her head tipping backwards as he peppered wet kisses down her throat and neck. "How old are you?" she countered.

"Too old for you," he answered with, even as he helped her lifting his shirt the rest of the way off, then getting her out of the one she'd been borrowing. His hand grabbed around to find his cell phone again, then used the light coming from it to help find his way to the bedroom.

OoOoO

With a low groan coming from his throat, Angel snuggled closer to the tiny body next to him, bending his head forward to press his lips lightly against her throat. Leaning back some, he watched a sleepy smile spread across Buffy's beautiful face and felt her arm come up to lay across his wrapped around her waist. Dropping another kiss on her bare shoulder, Angel laid his head back down, nuzzling his face into her hair and the back of her neck.

Waking up to a sight like this one was nothing short of heaven if you asked him. Her head all laid out on the white pillows, her silken locks spread out all around her, the morning light casting in on them made her look pure angelic, while the dark burgundy comforter had quite the opposite effect all at the same time. Which, was why he'd purchased it in the first place, sometime between their second and third meeting, with the idea of this tiny little girl laid out on it, in one of those revealing little numbers she seemed to prefer, her pale white skin popping against the dark red. And now, here she was. Though, for right now, he was just content with holding her, enjoying the silence, the feel of her in his arms.

"I was visiting my mother," she eventually spoke, her voice sounding a little tired still. "At the hospital that day, I was visiting my mother."

Angel remained silent, moving his arm slightly in order to be able to grab her hand.

"She... she's been in a coma for almost three years now," she continued softly. "I usually go out to visit her every either Saturday or Sunday. I used to go more... in the beginning... but..." she trailed off.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Buffy nodded. "It... it was a car accident. My... my parents were... they were arguing in the front seat. We were on out way home after having gone to see her sister and they... they just never saw him coming. It was a drunk driver... some idiot. I-I was in the back. I don't really remember too much of it... I had a lot of bumps and bruises, got cut up pretty badly, had a few broken bones and such... but yeah..."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, tugging her a little closer to him.

"When I go out there to see her I... leave the darkness behind for awhile... which would be why I looked rather different that day. I wasn't like this... before... so... I... I don't know. I have a stupid fear of her magically waking up when I'm there and afraid she wouldn't recognize me or something."

"It's not stupid, it's actually probably helpful. For both of you. Trying to make sure there's something familiar when nothing really would be anymore."

Buffy was silent for a moment the tilted her head back a bit and smiled softly at him before laying it back down. "This is just how I learned how to cope."

He sighed. "Among other things?"

Buffy tensed and he knew he'd taken it too far and wasted no time removing his arm from around her and giving her some space. "Can I use your shower?" she asked, already sitting up, doing her best to keep the covers over her.

He sighed again. "Yeah, sure."

Angel watched her slink about, hurrying off to the bathroom down the hall. When he heard the faint noise of the water being turned on, he groaned and rubbed his eyes for a moment before forcing himself to climb out of his warm bed. Angel hurried to throw on some clothes then went off to his second bathroom to freshen up a bit. Throwing on some shoes, Angel ran down to the diner to get them some breakfast after leaving her a quick note in case she came out to find him gone.

It didn't prove to be needed though, having made it there and back with plenty of time to spare. He'd made a few phone calls and got everything set up by the time she came out, dressed in another one of his shirts, this time a black cotton tee, her damped hair darkening the shoulders some. "You got breakfast?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't know you might want... so I just tried to remember what you got that night..."

Buffy's eyebrows scrunched together as she walked over to the table. "You remember what I ordered?"

He blushed. "I was paying a little too much attention," he admitted.

Buffy took her seat with a smile. "Well, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile of his own.

The pair began eating their meal, back in a comfortable silence, when a thought suddenly came to him. "Don't you have school?" his eyes searched around until they found where he'd hung a clock up. "What time's that start? Like seven, eight?"

Buffy almost choked on her pancakes.

"Hey, I haven't had to deal with high school for a good ten years alright! And you're late."

Buffy looked him over then shrugged.

"Well, you seem so concerned."

"I'll skip, it's not that big of a deal."

"I can take you, it's no problem."

She rolled her eyes. "I can't very well go to school pantsless, now can I? My pj's, which wouldn't be school appropriate anyway, still aren't dry. And yours just aren't going to fit me."

He sighed. "Well, I'd offer up my dryer... if I had one."

"You don't have a washer and dryer?"

"No. Not yet anyway."

"What do you do? Just buy new clothes when the others get too dirty?"

"Basically. Sometimes use a dry cleaner."

"Wow. Such a guy, aren't you?" she asked with a laugh.

He chuckled with her. "Well, yeah. And the fact I move around a lot and hate having to pack and unpack too much stuff."

Buffy's laughter cut off after that and she looked down, concentrating on her food.

"I can drop you off at your house so you can change?" he offered.

"I'm not walking out of here in the middle of the day without pants, dude."

He laughed again. She had a point, though he wasn't happy about her missing school, and him being sort of the cause for it. Though... the idea of getting to spend the better part of the day with her made it seem a little shinier.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," he told her once they'd both finished eating and cleaning up. "Um, well... TV's there, some movies are on that shelf, music for the stereo too... there's several books scattered around the place... computer's there... in case you get bored or whatever. There's not too much else to keep one entertained here. But yeah... I'll be back in a few."

After his shower, Angel returned to the living room, finding it empty. He sighed, looking around then headed back to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of soda before deciding to search the rest of the house for her. It wasn't much of a journey though, finding her laid out on his bed, waiting for him. For a long moment, Angel just stood in the door frame, looking her over. Then, he smiled, sat his drink down on the dresser and came to join her.

This is where, and how, most of the day was spent. Around their coupling, the pair sometimes slept, ate or tried to get to know each other a little better... though each were dancing around certain topics and keeping it safe. By the time night fell, Angel was sure, if he hadn't been already, completely in love with this strange, too young girl. And it scared the holy mother loving hell out of him.

Sneaking out into his car many hours later, when it seemed a little safer, less likely to get caught, Angel drove her home.

Sliding across the seat, Buffy kissed him then flashed him her best smile. "I'll see you soon," she told him before getting out, running toward her house, her hands tugging on the black tee she'd eventually put back on to wear home. He couldn't help but laugh at the sight, her sprinting awkwardly as she tried to make sure it stayed in place. Shaking his head, Angel watched her slip inside, throwing him one last wave when she turned around, then he reached for his phone, knowing he had some catching up to do after slacking off all day.

OoOoO

The rest of the week passed by before he saw her again, and when he did he wasn't entirely happy about it.

It was fairly late Saturday evening and he'd returned to the bar, in his get up, pretending to be there for a job. He'd become quite the regular, as both a customer and their go-to guy when something went wrong. He'd made an impression, which was good. Though, his little blonde vixen was trying to blow that up in his face it turned out.

He'd hardly even said his hello's when she came in. Alone. Wearing some tall high wedged boots that laced up the sides, reaching just below her knee. She had on black thigh highs which were in a tight fishnet design. Her dress was short, reaching well above mid-thigh. It was red with small black roses covering it, black trim at the top and along the three tiers of the skirt, along with black netting over it. It was strapless and she was this close to spilling right out the top of it. Down the front, from her breasts down to the middle, it was laced up in a loose corset style. Around one wrist, Buffy wore a bracelet made up of off-white skulls with black details, and on the other she wore a black lace and leather cuff, it had white stitching across the leather, a giant silver safety pin going through the top middle of it that had four charms hanging from it. Two of the charms were connect, on the far end was a small cross in black stone, silver trim around it and it had two small silver chains hanging down from it, connecting to the smaller silver skull key charm on the other end. Between the two gun two different silver skulls, one was fairly large in size, the other was a bit smaller, even with the crossbones it had in addiction. Her nails were now painted a fresh black with tiny silver-gray spider webs in the middle. Around her neck, Buffy wore a lace and pinstriped cloth choker, it had a giant crown charm attached to it with two chains, one black and one dark silver-gray, connecting a few inched over in the cloth, and hanging down from the crown was a white triangle-shaped bead, then a small black one with a gathering of silver and black chains hanging down, cutting of about an inch and a half above the start of her dress. In her ears, Buffy wore long silver earrings, at the bottoms were silver bows with black teardrop-shaped gems hanging from them. Similar but different silver hoops were behind them. Her lips were a bright red and the dark black around her eyes had returned. Her hair was pulled back in a wet-look ponytail, a fuzzy lace holder sticking out.

He tried to ignore her, and all the men who weren't, trying to stay focused on what he was doing and the conversation he was also trying to have at the same time... but it was not easy. Less when she ordered up two shots, quickly downed them, then started right for him. Angel had already laid himself out down on the ground so she just stepped on leg over him then danced her way down to straddle him, earning quite the amount of cheers from the boys in the bar. His hands fisted, one painfully around the wrench it was holding, as she placed both of hers on the ground around his head, her upper body leaning forward to hover over him, and her head ducking down to kiss and nip at his lips playfully. 

"What are you doing?" he whispered.

She smiled and kissed him again. "Let's get out of here."

"I have work to do."

"So? Forget about it. It can wait. I can't," she teased.

Angel growled. "You should leave."

"Only if you come with."

"Buffy."

She wiggled her hips against him and laughed.

Again, he growled then pulled her off of him as he pushed himself off the ground to stand. "Go home."

Some drunken customer started hollering something. Angel didn't hear what it was, too busy focusing on other things, but had a pretty good idea what it probably was.

Buffy grew pissed, quickly.

The drunken idiot apparently pulled himself from his spot and stumbled over to them. "Well, damn honey, if he won't give you what you need..."

Angel didn't hear the rest of that, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of there.

"Let go of me!"

He didn't until they were out in the gravel, several feet away from the door. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to get you to take me home and fuck me," she spoke boldly.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I have work to do."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Because broken jukeboxes, clogged toilets and light fixtures of the world are so goddamn important."

Angel pushed her back on top of the closest car hood, thankful it didn't set off an alarm, and leaned dangerously close to her. "You might think your tight little pussy is the hottest shit in town, but I have a job to do," he spat before pushing back off of her and starting to walk back toward the bar.

She picked up a rock and threw it at him, hitting him in the middle of his back. "Whatever the hell you're really doing here, he'll find out, you know."

Angel took a deep breath and counted to ten before looking back over his shoulder. "I have a job to do. Go home, go... hell, I don't care. Just go."


	3. Chapter Three

Angel spent the rest of his stay at the bar kicking himself for his earlier behavior. It had gotten the job done, sure, he'd gotten her out of there and left him be to do what was needed, but there were a million other ways that could have happened all the same in a much better manner than it had. 

She just had to show up and pull that on him at one hell of a time.

He'd already been raging war with a killer headache since the night before and even a cold he thought he felt coming on as it were. He'd been anxious enough about everything he had planned for the night, and of course, that only got worse when she showed up in the middle of it. And she... Angel was just downright terrified when it came to her, in every way imaginable. From the thought of being with her, to the thought of not being with her. He was terrified of his feelings for her, how fast and how strong they came at him. He was terrified of the future, of what was going to happen once he closed this case and had to leave, move on to his next assignment. There was already talk floating around of a still top secret deep cover project waiting for him to jump on. Terrified of how the future would effect not only him but her as well, worried of what would happen to her. His feelings... he worried about how they were going to effect her, effect him, both of their lives, hell, effect his job. He was terrified of the idea of what if things took a wrong turn and she ended up being used against him in a very ugly manner. He'd avoided ever getting into relationships since his very first op because of that very possibility. And with her... it was just a million times worse to think about and imagine. He was terrified of her walking in here, into places like this, being around morons like this... what could go wrong with that alone. He worried about why she'd walked in, why she was hanging around in places like this, why she kept doing things like this to herself. And how he had no idea on how to help her, which was completely frustrating. He was terrified he was only going to make it worse. He was terrified on how badly his concentration got compromised when she was around, and tonight, he just couldn't afford something like that or her making a scene. And it just sort of seemed to bubble over on him.

After making his getaway, driving around for what felt like five years, trying to make sure he was in the clear, Angel finally picked a spot to pull over to then got out, waiting for the van to catch up with him. "How we doing?" he asked, climbing into the large vehicle, handing over his no-longer-needed devices and equipment.

"Good so far," Oz replied softly, looking nervous as all hell, practically having sweating right through his clothes and looking rather sickly.

Angel patted the young tech's shoulder. "You did good, Oz."

"Heh. Until they find them."

Angel leaned his head back. "They're not going to find them," he said, his hands coming up to rub his temples.

"And if they do?"

"Then we'll worry about it then," he muttered.

"That's your plan?" Oz asked, his eyes a little wider than usual, his behavior way off from usual. The tech was good, brilliant even, but he wasn't so good when it came to actual field work. He started to doubt himself and get jumpy when you took him out of his lab.

"Pretty much," he grumbled out. "Just don't worry about it, that's my job. They haven't found them nor have they thought to even look. And, if you did your job correctly, even if they do, they won't be able to detect anything."

"I don't like this."

Angel shrugged. "Anyway, I gotta head out."

"You're not going to listen?"

Angel turned his head back to where there were boys in the back with headphones on, plugged into the bugs he'd finally had a chance to plant throughout the building. One of the first big steps he needed to make. "That's what I have you guys for. I'll see you later." As he was about to climb out, he heard Oz call out to him and turned his head around. "Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"I always am," he told the currently black haired man and shut the door, heading back to his own car.

The drive back to Sunnydale was long and plenty awful. His head was pounding, even with the three new pain relievers he'd picked up to take and he was tired as all hell. The craving to jump into a steaming shower then crawl into bed was almost painful.

But he had something else to take care of first.

Covering a yawn with his hand, Angel dragged himself back out of his car, slowly making his way up to Buffy's front door. He hoped to God she was home, though it did seem rather doubtful with what little he knew about her, but he was hoping with all he had. The idea of having to run all over town, at the very least, trying to find her was enough to make him want to weep.

A few moments after knocked, the door opened to reveal a man Angel assumed to be Buffy's father. "Yes, can I help you?"

Angel gave him a tight smile. "Hi, I was wondering if Buffy was home?"

The older man nodded and stepped out of the way to let Angel inside. "She should be upstairs still, I didn't hear her leave," he said before turning toward the staircase. "Buffy!" he shouted. "You have company!"

There was no answer so he tried again a few minutes later. Angel could see him ready to direct him out when suddenly there was a crash heard from above them. Both men looked up for a moment, then Angel wasted no time running toward it. "Buffy?" he called, rapping his knuckles on the white wooden door.

He heard a small sound of movement from the other side but nothing more.

"Buffy?" he tried again, his hands reaching around for whatever he might still have on him that he'd be able to pick the lock with and after a few moments he was able to turn the door handle and push the door open slowly. 

Angel did his best to keep his face as neutral as possible when he saw her. But it wasn't the easiest task, she looked like a complete wreck. Her body was laid out careless on the tiled floor, her back propped up against the white porcelain bathtub. Her stockings were pushed down, one to the start of her boot, the other was even pushed down over the shaft, and her skirt was hiked up around her, exposing fresh new wounds on her thighs and upper legs. There were a few on one of her arms as well. The device used, a large broken piece of glass, was still in one hand. He didn't know exactly what it had come from, but the rest of the smashed mess was over by the toilet. Her make-up was smeared and she'd obviously been crying.

Angel looked her over for a moment before slowly letting himself into the room, walking carefully and cautiously to her before kneeling down. She wasn't looking at him or seemingly paying any attention. "Buffy," he whispered. To no response. "I'm sorry about earlier," he told her. "I shouldn't have acted... or said what I did. I could have and I should have handled the situation better than I did." She was still looking off blankly at nothing. "I'm sorry." When he reached out to take the hand not holding the chunk of glass, her eyes closed, but she didn't say anything still yet or respond any more than that. He sighed before leaning in to kiss her cheek before standing back up, searching the small room to find some supplies to clean her up with.

He'd just set everything up and began working on her when he noticed Buffy's attention being drawn elsewhere. He stopped dabbing on the wound he'd taken to and turned his head around to see the man from downstairs in the doorway. He honestly had zero idea of what to do or say. He looked at the man, then to Buffy, then looked back in time to see him sigh and just walk away. Buffy turned her head back to her bleeding flesh.

Sensing he was about to get up and go say something, Buffy's hand came to rest on top of his. He looked over at her again and she shook her head, her eyes blinking tiredly. "He just doesn't know what to do with me," she whispered. "That's all."

Angel just nodded, going back to working on inspecting and cleaning her wounds up some. When he was finished, he put everything back in its place then lifted her up off the ground and into his arms. Stepping out into the hall, Angel saw Buffy's father again. He looked at the two of them before heading back for the staircase. Angel sighed, jostling her a bit to get a better hold. "Which room?" he asked her softly.

Buffy turned her head, laying it down on his shoulder as she pointed. Angel fought a yawn and his burning with need to get some rest eyes and carried her over, kicking the door shut before sitting her down on the bed. Looking around briefly, he shook his head, wondering once again what in the world it was about this girl that drove him absolutely crazy. Angel knelt down to the floor before her again, unlacing one boot at a time and setting them off to the side, followed by her fishnets. Next, Angel help stand her up, helping her out of her dress. Unable to stop himself, his eyes hungrily drank her in, now before him down to her tiny red boy-short lacey underwear. Shaking his head, he picked her back up, walked a feet feet around the bed pulling back the covers and laying her down. Stepping out of his own pair of shoes, he soon joined her down on the small bed.

"I am sorry," he whispered against her neck.

Buffy nodded. Her hands played with his for several silent moments before she decided to turn around to face him, laying her head back on his shoulder. "I wanted to get you out of there, much like you had that one day," she told him softly after many more minutes had passed. "I don't want you there either." Angel closed his eyes, pressing his forehead down to hers. "It's not safe."

"I'll be fine," he whispered, his hands rubbing light circles on her back.

Buffy shook her head. "That's the thing, Angel. You won't. I've seen you, you know. I've watched you and I know there's something more going on. I don't know what it is but it's not good. And... I don't think I could ha-handle it if something happened to you... I just..."

"Shh," Angel whispered, holding her tighter, feeling her body shaking with sobs. A hand came up to her chin, tipping her head back toward him. "I'll be fine," he told her softly. "I know what I'm doing."

Buffy shook her head again. Angel sighed before lowering his head to hers, softly pressing his lips to hers. "Please, Angel. Please, whatever it is, stop and just walk away," she whispered between kisses and breaks for air.

He didn't respond, he didn't know how to. Instead, he just continued what he was doing, rolling on top of her, cradling himself between her legs as their heated make-out session continued.

Knowing if he didn't end this soon, he never would, Angel finally forced himself to pull away from the blonde goddess, leaving them both gasping for air, not doing anything to mask their unhappiness at the loss. "I should go," he said reluctantly.

Buffy's face turned into a pout. "Stay."

He dropped a quick peck on her nose. "I wish I could, but I don't think that would be the best idea," he told her, sitting up and looking for where he'd last left his shoes. "Least not right now."

"Why not?"

He sighed, reaching with a groan to grab up his sneakers and began putting them on. "Because we've both had a very rough, long and emotional night that could easily get the best of us. And as fun, in some ways, that could and most certainly would be, your dad is here and I don't think he'd be too happy with what I'd like to do to his daughter right now."

Buffy chuckled. "So? I don't mind."

"I'll bet you don't," he told her, standing up. Reaching into his pocket, Angel pulled out his keys, flipping through them until he found one of the copies to his house here in Sunnydale. Slipping it off the key ring, Angel walked the step over back to the bed, leaned down to kiss Buffy one more time, slipping the small key into one of her hands.

She stared down at it, obviously fighting a smile.

"Get some rest. Can I see you tomorrow?"

Buffy bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah."

Walking down the stairs, Angel popped his neck several times, rubbing his eyes over and over. God, how he wanted some sleep. He was far too tempted to rush back up there, one for the girl and two just for the bed alone. Stepping into the living room, Angel found Buffy's father sitting on one edge of the couch watching television. He felt more awkward now than he had earlier. With a cough, Angel got his attention and he tried to smile though was sure it looked more than a little uneasy. Stepping closer to the older man, Angel reached his hand out. "Hi, I'm sorry... I didn't... uh... get a chance to properly introduce myself earlier, I'm Angel O'Connor. I'm... uh... well, I hope I'm dating Buffy."

The blonde man looked purely shocked but finally shook his head and then Angel's hand. "I'm, um, Hank. Hank Summers. Buffy's father."

Angel gave him a nod and another tight smile. "I was just... heading out now."

Hank continued to look confused and shocked. "How old are you?"

Angel took a deep breath. "Almost twenty-nine," he said, his tone even apologetic about it.

"You do realize she's only eighteen and still in high school, right?"

"I do. And I completely understand and probably share a good majority of your concerns about it. But... I don't know. I don't know what this is or why it happened, only that it did and it is."

Hank looked away, shaking his head, looking so unsure of everything. Angel felt for him. And he truly did understand where he was coming from.

"I love her," he finally spoke, saying what he'd known to be true for some time now though hadn't yet said to her, or truly even to himself. "And I will not let anything happen to her, I promise."

Hank stared at the floor. Angel knew there was so much he wanted to say and do but this just wasn't the time. Angel sighed, excused himself once more then finally made it outside. The cool breeze helped liven him up a bit but he was more than ready to get home and put this day behind him.

OoOoO

It was late into the afternoon before Angel saw Buffy again. He'd slept through most of the day then did some catch up with his team before taking a shower. Afterward, he had a quick meal then went through the motions in order to contact his family, something he'd been slacking off on. Not that they were surprised. Angel, and they as well, knew it was possible to schedule more communication, visits and such if he wanted, but Angel had learned he wasn't one of those guys. He needed the distance, when he needed the distance. But, he never left his loved ones completely in the dark when he had an option otherwise.

He was rubbing at his eyes, listening to his mother try to subtly question him about the upcoming window that had been set up for him to come home briefly. If things went as planned between now and then anyway. He still hadn't made up his mind so was trying to figure out an answer when there was a knock on his front door.

Angel turned his head toward the noise and closed his eyes for a moment. As he stood, Angel tried to work in the fact someone was at his door to his mother but he quickly gave up and just headed over there and opened it.

Angel's eyes widened and his mouth went dry at the sight before him. Buffy wore a pair of black creepers, they had some white detail on them, including a skull and crossbones on the tops. There were sheer white knee highs sprouting out from them. Her skirt, red, black and grey, was every bit perfection of a school girl fantasy. It had a small black lace up detail in the center front, complete with a black ribbon tied in a bow. Her shirt, a white boy beater type tank top, melted against her skin perfectly. Upon feeling his eyes on her, her nipples harden, showing through the thin material. Down the middle of the tank was a black tie, a large safety pin clipped in the middle of it. He would quickly learn of the back of the tank, a large opened panel where a satin red ribbon laced up to hold it together. She had on a matching necklace and bracelet set, both made of stretchy black plastic, tattooing against her pale skin with diamond crossing shapes. On one hand she wore a silver ring, the ends swirling and passing each other by in the front, a tiny diamond resting between those two ends. On the other, she wore another silver band on her thumb, it had large black crosses embedded around it. In her ears, Buffy wore a pair of impaled black cross earrings, her regular set of silver hoops behind them. Her hair was down, set in loose pigtails, thin black bands holding the sides apart. Her make-up was much lighter than usual, a pinkish-brown color, just a small dash of black around her eyes.

Wasting no time, Angel's arm shot out to grab her, pulling her inside. She squealed in happiness then made an "oomphing" noise when he shoved her back against the door once it shut behind them. With one hand he kept the phone to his ear but pointed the mouth piece as far from him as possible as he crushed his body against her, his lips taking possession of her own with a hungry growl.

"Is everything alright?" Angel heard come from his mother, though it was very fuzzy.

Flipping the phone back to him he muttered out an "Uh huh," quickly before nipping back on Buffy's lips. She shuddered as his free hand slide up her body, from her sides, up her stomach, teasing her breasts.

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, then there was a noise he was quite familiar with, then she continued with whatever she'd been saying.

Angel felt dizzy, had since his eyes first landed on her when he opened the door to spot her on the other side. He'd been over thinking as it were, then there was last night, a lot of emotions running high from that alone, the fact they both went to bed unsatisfied, that they other had too, then there was her... and that outfit... and now...

Buffy's head thumped and rolled against the hard wood behind her, baring her neck more to Angel as he sucked and nipped at the flesh. She moaned his name, her body rubbing against him. Her black lace panties now rested on the ground around her feet.

Angel clinched his jaw as his fingertips made their first contact with her satiny wetness. When he finally pushed a digit in Buffy squeaked, making him smile. He slowly began pumping his finger in and out of her, all while trying to get to a point he could bid his mother farewell on the phone. She either wasn't taking his many hints or just not caring.

And he knew why.

He still didn't have an answer though.

"Mom, I really have to," Angel quickly held the phone away from him and breathed out a swear or two as Buffy bit his neck, "uh... see what happens," he tried to remember what he was saying as her biting turned to sucking, her hands beginning to worm their way down his body, then began to undo his belt, his jeans. The belt made a small clinking noise as it hit the ground and he made a strangled one of his own when her hands began fondling the large tent formed in his boxers. "And go now. I have to..."

Mom wasn't having any of that. He let out another strangled noise, out of frustration at the woman who'd given birth to him, out of pleasure from the young girl who gently pushed his backwards a step or two so she could sink down to the ground before him. He watched as she gently slid him out of the black material, letting the shorts join the denim at his feet, then as she slowly stroked him, then began taking him in her pink glossed mouth.

Angel swore several more times. His free hand braced back at the wall and he did his best to keep his hips from bucking against her. Sucking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes for a moment before letting his gaze fall back downward. Buffy's eyes slowly lifted, meeting his. Angel felt his whole body shudder, then move on it's own, forcing her to move backward, trapping her once again more tightly between him and the door. His hand went down to her blonde locks and his hips slowly pushed forward, finding his way deeper into the warmth. He watched and felt her panic for a moment before relaxing, looking back at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Angel rushed out he'd be there to his mother and anything else he could think of before hanging up. He knew there'd be hell to pay for that later but he didn't care. He had more important things to worry about at the moment.

OoOoO

Angel had no clue as to what time it was, the sun had gone down long before. He had no idea how many times he and Buffy had gone at each other as they continued to act like a pair of jack rabbits, just that he was going to have an incredible ego after this night, and that both of them were certainly going to be sore tomorrow.

Missing one shoe, her stockings uneven, her hair a complete mess, Buffy remained in her outfit, on all fours on top of Angel's coffee table. Her hands clenched at the edge in front of her, her knees padded by some of the throw pillows from the couch. Angel pounded into her from behind, relentlessly, ignoring the pain in his own kneecaps as all he used were a stack of magazines for padding, which hadn't been intentional so weren't even in a good position for what they were anyway. But none of that really mattered.

Right now, nothing else did.

OoOoO

Lights were dimmed, all he could hear was his heart pounding, blood rushing, static and heavy breathing. His entire body was shaking, which he saw more than felt. He was too numb at this point. Angel closed his eyes and laid his head back more comfortably against the tile of his kitchen floor. He was drained. In every which way you could imagine. 

Buffy wasn't fairing much better, sprawled out half on the floor, half in a rather awkward position in one of the chairs. She looked limp, obviously a little pained, but blissful all the same. Angel knew she had been with someone else, an old boyfriend, prior to him but hadn't had much experience in sexual terms before him, and not before this fuckathon day in which he'd introduced her to many new things during and did his best to push them both to their limits.

Angel moaned and groaned as he forced himself to sit back up, which was not at all an easy task. Bones crackles and the static grew as he reached forward, pulling Buffy down to him. "Angel," she breathed, her eyes half closed, "as much as I would love to keep going at it like there's no tomorrow, I just don't think I can right now. Raincheck, huh?"

Angel chuckled and shook his head, laying them both back down and cuddling close to her much smaller body. He knew this was quite uncomfortable down here but that there was just no way he was going to make it anywhere else. Buffy sighed, snuggling even closer, wincing when she moved. Angel did his best to fight off sleep once again as he tried to look her over, make sure he hadn't caused too much damage. She kept swatting at him though too, saying she was too sensitive to anything, so he eventually gave up, making a mental note to finish this later. "So, do you forgive me?"

"For what?" she asked sleepily.

"Being an ass."

Buffy nodded. "I'd tell you not to do it again but I like this whole you trying to make up for it thing."

Angel chuckled against her neck. "Maybe we can do this again sometime, without the fighting."

"That'd be nice," she mumbled. "I love you."

Angel's eyes popped open and almost out of his head and he completely stilled, watching her drift off to sleep after that tired, unexpected declaration.

When he was certain she was deep in dreamland, he brushed away some loose strands of blonde hair from her face and kissed her temple. "I love you too, Buffy," he whispered. Angel closed his eyes and pressed his nose deep into her neck. "I love you too."

OoOoO

Angel woke up to the sound of Buffy moving around and the sun just starting to peek into the house. He opened one eye and groaned, seeing her slipping clothes on. "What are you doing?" he groaned.

Her head turned and she smiled over her shoulder at him. "Hi," she said a little shyly. "I'm getting dressed."

"What in the world for?" he asked,letting his eyes close again for a few more moments. "Am I about to make you miss school again?"

He heard her chuckle. "It's Saturday," she told him. "I know it's been awhile for you, but we still stick to Monday through Friday for regular school days."

He cracked a peek at her, trying to glare. "Ha, ha," he deadpanned.

She smiled again before reaching for her boots. "But, if you must know, I'm meeting up with my friend Faith."

'The wild child,' he thought. He hadn't seen her in awhile. "What kind of trouble are the two of you planning to find yourselves in today?" he asked.

Buffy stood, turning to look at him. "Now who said anything about trouble?"

He chuckled, one hand coming up to rub at his tired eyes. "Just putting two and two together," he answered with a smile. He sat up, taking her in. "Can I see you later then?"

Buffy fluffed at her hair some, trying to make herself look presentable enough and gave him a seductive smile. "I'm sure I could stop on by again."

He smiled back and reached out to grab her hand, pulling her closer. "As much fun as repeating last night sounds..." he started, "I was meaning a little more than that... maybe go out and do something? Now, if one thing leads to another..."

She looked surprised. "Y-you want to go out on a date with me?" Buffy asked.

"Yes."

One eyebrow slightly went up. "In public?"

He chuckled a little again. "Yes, a date, in public, with you. What do you say?"

Her green eyes cast down, looking at where his hand was holding hers. "O-okay," she barely whispered. A moment later she added, "I'd love to."

Angel offered to drive her but she decline. The two exchanged numbers before she headed out the door though. He felt it was probably a much bigger accomplishment in his head than it truly was but didn't care.

OoOoO

The day felt long as he waited for the time to pick Buffy up to come rolling around. He managed to check in with a few contacts to make sure things were still going as planned and even got to catch up on some sleep though, so he couldn't complain too much there. He began getting ready two hours prior, and still managed to be running late. He felt insanely nervous about this for some reason. They'd made rather simple plans-the classic dinner and a show-but he still felt pressure on himself for everything to be perfect.

Angel put any thoughts to whether continuing with this girl was a good idea or not to sleep for right now, questions of what was to happen once his job was done aside. None of that mattered right now.

OoOoO

Buffy had her blonde locks down but styled. Her hair parted to the side, was fluffed and had slight mini curls throughout. Her face was painted lightly, but the color choices made it all stand out. Her eyes popped with the blue and silver shadow, lips a fine shimmering shade of pink. Her neck was adorned by a blue leather choker. It had a black strip down the middle, a few gormets along it, there was a large silver ring in the middle with another cuffed inside of it. Buffy wore a set of black diamond earrings and a single plain silver ring on her left hand. The dress she had chosen for their evening was a little 'less' than her normal get-ups but still very 'her.' The dress was shaped nearly like a tank top for the body, it was black in color with a heart cut out across the chest, the heart was decorated in a blue plaid design, the top of the arms had blue ribbons tied in large bows. The bottom half of the dress had a three tier skirt. The main was done in a different shade and pattern but similar blue and green plaid, and below hung two different lengths of mesh. The skirt of the dress reached several inches above her knee. She wore some very clunky looking ankle boots, they were a plain blue color, matching more to the heart plaid, had heels that had to be four or five inches at least tall. The boots laced up the front and had rows of spikes along the back, top to bottom.

Angel shook his head after his assessment, smiling slowly.

"Is this okay?" she asked him afterward, her voice a little softer.

Angel crossed the few steps between them, leaned down to kiss her. "You look beautiful, as always," he told her, smiling again.

"Because I can go change," she continued, suddenly looking rather nervous. "You know, into something more... normal?"

Angel kissed her again, one hand coming up to brush her hair. "You look perfect," he reassured her. "I want you to be you."

Buffy smiled a little shyly, nodded. "Okay," she told him. Stepping away from him, she walked over to grab a simple black mini backpack purse and then went over to the redhead who he didn't exactly know and only now even noticed and said something to her before waving and walking back towards him.

Angel smiled at the other girl, giving her a wave as well.

OoOoO

Angel knew he had to have one hell of a goofy grin on his face as soon as they got into the car. Buffy scooted herself as close as possible next to him, hooking one arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder and remained like such the whole ride. Angel asked about her day and while Buffy didn't say much about her morning with Faith, she was happy to give a number of details about the redhead. Angel knew more than he should about the dark haired friend, having gone out of his way to check into her some, but Willow was another story. There was nothing on her legally really, and the two of them had never had any contact until tonight. He could tell there was a special bond between the two girls though as he listened.

When they got to the restaurant, Angel again came around to hold the door open for her, helping her out. The place looked a little busy, but thankfully not overflooded. Inside, the were given a little buzzer thing for when their table was ready so the pair walked over to a corner to wait. He didn't know why, but he was getting that nervous vibe from her again soon after they entered. His eyes looked around as if they answer lied somewhere inside, but then gave up, putting his arms around her waist, drawing her back into his chest and holding her tightly. "Everything alright?"

Buffy nodded, tilting her head back to look at him. "I just feel nervous for some reason," she admitted. "Out of place, or something."

He held her tighter. She certainly did stand out in the crowd, but he figured she probably always did. She was strikingly beautiful, her choice of attire and such had to often gain attention, and at the moment there was also the fact of her being here with him. He knew that had to get at least some people's attention to see the two of them together. "I think you're right where you belong," he whispered. For that, he earned his date turning around in his arms, coming to face him. She slid her arms up around his neck, pulling his head down to her. Happily following, he soon found her lips brushing into his.

After that things were bit of a blur and the two obviously got a little caught up as neither noticed the buzzer going off. One of the hostesses had to come over and "mmhmm," at the to get their attention. Both blushed, pulling apart. Angel handed the small plastic piece over to the woman and then followed another out to their seat.

OoOoO

"Good choice, by the way," Buffy said after sliding into the booth. "Of the restaurant," she explained after he raising an eyebrow.

Angel looked around. "Never been, but it had good reviews online," he chuckled.

A bigger smile crossed her face. "Its one of my favorites around town, though I never really come out here."

"Why not?"

Buffy shrugged. "Kind of a date or family type place I guess. They have some good drinks though too."

Reaching for his menu, he looked at her but said nothing. One thing was for sure, there would be no underage drinking tonight while here at least. Thankfully, she didn't even bother trying at ordering such, instead opting for a strawberry lemonade. Angel ordered a sweet tea and asked if they could go ahead an order a sample platter of appetizers while she was there. And it wasn't long before the large platter of potato skins, cheese bites and chicken tenders were brought out.

Buffy seemed to relax more as they sat there and ate. She asked him about his day, laughed at his attempts of humor, even told him a story of the last time she'd been here.

Buffy wound up ordering the lemon pepper chicken with corn on the cob and a fruit plate while he opted for the steak and shrimp combo, with fries and his own fruit plate as well. The food came out quicker than he was expecting given their volume tonight, but there were no complaints there. The two wound up sharing bits and pieces with one another from each of their plates, and fell into easy conversation once more. Angel tip-toed around asking questions about her family, but was the most open about anything so far when it came to discussing his. He didn't have to lie or keep track of lies with them the majority of the time. He could either say little truths when asked, no one really cared too much if they did, or he'd say there was no one in cases he was a little more worried about leaking anything out.

Right now, with her though, he took the chance to be a little more open. He told her his parents had married young, had waited several years before deciding to have him, that his father passed away when he was young due to lung cancer. He told of his mom raising him on her own, being his rock, making sure he had everything he could want. That later in life she had found someone else and they had Cordelia. In a sick twist of fate, another battle with disease came to be, and again lost. So now it was he, his mom and Cordelia on their own.

"They sound lovely," she told him after asking several questions about the women in his life.

He nodded, then skated around her asking where they were and went by hours then jumped into something else.

"Do you get to see them often then?"

Angel shook his head. "Well, sometimes. Depends on what I'm doing at the time. I move around here and there so sometimes I'm a bit more out of the way than I'd like. But we talk on the phone or I go see them when I can. Hoping things work out for the next few weeks so I can head out there to surprise them."

Angel had to bite his tongue by the end of it, afraid he was going to up and ask her to join right then and there. That would be one hell of a surprise, he thought.

OoOoO

Not feeling as though they could eat anything from the dessert menu, the two gathered their things once finished, Angel paid then they started out for the movie theater.

While they had discussed what to do for this date he had let her leave the meal up to him but eventually got her to decide on their movie.

Angel grabbed her hand as they walked from the car up to the ticket booth which had a decent sized group waiting outside. Getting in line, he fell behind her again, wrapping his arms around her waist and letting his chin rest on her shoulder. Buffy let out a humming noise, relaxing against him. She closed her eyes for a moment, swaying against him.

"Hey, Buffy." Both of their heads turned to see a girl in a cheerleading outfit. She was blonde and gave a little wave.

"Hey, Amy," his own blonde said. "How are you?"

The cheerleader shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Jesse's running late-as usual."

Buffy chuckled. "Well, at least he's consistent?"

Amy laughed. "I guess." The cheerleader looked him up and down. "Who's your friend?" Buffy then introduced them, letting the other girl know he was fairly new to town and telling him they were friends from grade school.

Angel caught the Amy girl giving his date a thumbs up when she thought he wasn't looking.

OoOoO

Angel got them each an Icee and a package of mixed chocolates before making their way to the right room for the movie. He followed her through the walkway, then turning to go up a set of stairs until they reached the very back row, following her until she found a spot she liked.

The room had a few people scattered around by the time the lights began to dim and the trailers started.

Out of the blue, when the room darkened, Angel began to feel nearly nervous again... as if he was back to being thirteen and on his first date. He shook his head at the thought, nearly laughing. This girl did some wicked things to him.

Buffy had chosen an action flick, which he couldn't really complain about. Not that he wouldn't have wanted to watch anything with her. He paid half attention to it, which was the best he could do next to her. She'd again curled herself up against him the best she could in the large seats, but eventually just climbed over the arm and rested on his lap.

When the movie ended, she stood in front of him, stretching, then did a little dance to mimic a scene from the movie. He laughed, pulling her back to his lap and kissing her. "Well, you know where that led on there," he teased.

"Mmhmm," she replied. "What about now, with you?"

Angel kissed her again before standing, still holding her. "Guess I should be taking you home then."

"Only if you mean yours."


End file.
